Tempa Rossa Project

Tempa Rossa is an oilfield located high in the Sauro valley, in the heart of the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy. The projects primarily extends over the region in the Municipality of Corleto Perticara (PZ), 4 km away from where the future processing centre is to be built. 5 wells have already been drilled in the region of the Municipality of Corleto Perticara, while the sixth well is located in the Municipality of Gorgoglione. The area where the LPG is to be stored is located in the Municipality of Guardia Perticara.

The plant system – among the most advanced ones in the oil sector – will have a daily production capacity of approximately 50,000 barrels of oil, 230,000 m³ of natural gas, 240 tons of LPG and 80 tons of sulphur.

The development project

8 production wells, 6 of which have been drilled and two to be drilled after obtaining authorizations.

Construction of an oil processing centre where the extracted hydrocarbons, transported via an underground flow line network, are to be processed and separated into various sub-products (crude oil, gas fuel, sulphur, LPG) and then sent via underground flow lines or, in the case of sulphur, via tankers.

Construction of an LPG storage centre (2 underground tanks with a total capacity of 3,000 m³) with 4 road loading points.

Construction or modification of service infrastructure (adjustment of municipal roads, creating water and electricity supply systems for the processing centre, connections to existing networks for the transport and distribution of the hydrocarbons).

A project that requires technical knowledge and appropriate solutions
Discovered in 1989, the Tempa Rossa oilfield, in the Gorgoglione Concession, is special because of the nature of the hydrocarbons present (heavy crude oil with a gravity ranging from 10 to 22 API and the presence of sulphur), but also because of its environmental context: located in the Gallipoli Cognato regional park and the Pollino national park, the concession is found in the heart of a region with a high tourism value because of the beauty of its landscapes; it extends over a geological region with non-negligible seismic activity and a complex hydrogeological network. In addition to these unique aspects, this region also has incredible archaeological heritage. The development of an oilfield such as this one is a challenge that TOTAL and its partners have accepted, implementing the most appropriate oil industry techniques for exploration and production, as well as for the safety of the operations and in order to respect the environment and nature.

A project of inter-regional dimensions
The Tempa Rossa oilfield benefits from its close proximity to existing infrastructures, only 8 km away. In this way, gas will be easily transported to the local SNAM distribution network and the oil will be transported via underground pipelines to the “Viggiano-Taranto” oil pipeline that is 51 cm in diameter and 136 km long (96 km of which is in Basilicata), which connects the Val d’Agri oilfield plants to the Taranto Refinery, its export terminal.

Project partners
The development of the Tempa Rossa project brings together large international oil groups. Alongside TOTAL, the operator in charge of developing the project, Shell (25%) and Mitsui E&P Italia B S.r.l. (25%) are involved.
These are worldwide companies with extensive experience in Italy.